Imperfections in Willow tree that is used to make Cricket bats

There are many imperfections found in the English Willow Tree that still be present in the finished bat. Here we give an overview of the most common to reassure the consumer that they are only cosmetic.
Probably the most common imperfection found in the small knot or “pin knot.” These are generally up to 10 mm in diameter and are still living. They usually will be present in the edge and/or back of the bat, although sometimes they are visible on the face. They will not affect the playing of the bat at all.

Pin Knot

“Speck” is another which is due entirely to the growing conditions of the tree. The tree has grown on earth containing a lot of gravel and/or stones. The tree has taken tiny molecules up into itself with water, which gets deposited along between the grains. It is purely cosmetic and is also a sign of a potent bat that will last.
Speck
This is “Butterfly Stain,” so-called as it resembles the body and wings of a butterfly. It is attributed to the tree being a hybrid of English Cricket Bat Willow; it is firm and plays well. It is just a matter of you like to have a bat that looks a bit special.

Butterfly Stain

This is a more pronounced form of Butterfly Stain and is known as Bar Stain. Again the wood is solid, and you can tell the difference from Butterfly Stain by the fact that this has many “Bars” of stain very close together.

Bar Stain

A very common imperfection is the “False Growth.” This is caused when for some reason, the tree has stopped growing for maybe one season. It can be caused by drought, fire, or weed killer. Nine times out of ten, there is no weakness in the bat, and they will certainly not break along the False Growth. It will typically run parallel to the typical grains.

False Growth

This blade has a brown line down the middle, as you can see in the photograph. It has been caused by the roots having been cut either by a digger or perhaps a plow. It is rotting in the very early stages but not to the detriment of the playing ability.

Cut Roots

This is a “dead knot.” The tree has been trimmed up very late, and the resulting branch has been left to grow for many years. Before this can be used to make a bat, the knot is drilled out and filled. As long as it is not on the bat’s face, it will have a minimal detrimental effect on the playability.

Dead Knot

This is a “dead knot.” The tree gets cut down and trimmed up very late, and the specified and marked branch has been then left to grow for many years. All this is done before this branch can be used to make a bat; the knot is drilled out and filled. As long as it is not on the bat’s face, it will have a minimal detrimental effect on the playability.

Storm Damage (additionally known as Wind Damage).

This is when the tree has been affected by substantial winds which has blown the tree from side to side in a highly aggressive chateau and has damaged the cell structure of the willow, it will happen a lot more in the tops of the tree which obtain whipped around even more as well as consequently it is likewise extra widespread in slim grain bats (the grains of a bat are constantly narrower in the top of the tree than all-time low). If you envision the cell framework of a willow tree ranging from leading to bottom, if there is lateral movement to excess these cells will break and also trigger a weakness.

This wind damages is a natural occurrence and also there is definitely nothing we or the bat maker can do regarding it. The majority of these bats are located when they remain in the production procedure, yet some will still get through to the customer. They will not always break (they generally break based on the connected photo by snapping across the grain) yet if somewhat mistreated or they catch a fast Yorker on the toe with perhaps a poor quality round they are most likely to break. An excellent way to lower the possibilities of this are by having added toe protection on the bat.

You can see from the image that storm damages is obvious as the bat will divide right across the blade (throughout the grain), or sometimes midway across.

Bleached Bats

The general public typically want a bat that looks great, which suggests they desire leading grade willow without knots or blemishes as well as no redwood (or really little). In the 1970’s and 1980’s bats were bleached, this hid any type of blemishes and also colour although it did look abnormal.

As a result of contemporary farming techniques as well as the absence of labour on our farms it is harder and also harder to find lots of Grade 1 and Grade 2 willow, consequently the whitening has started to re-show up to make the Grade 3 and also below willow appearance more pleasing to the eye. This has no detrimental impact on the bat and is totally cosmetic. You can see the arise from this treatment aware to your right.